14x01 - Fly Away Home

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Iends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

We lost our house
because there was a fire.

I was really scared
because I thought

We was going to live
out in the street.

My mother couldn't
pay the rent,

So they put padlocks
on our door.

I wish I could
go back home.

I only could take
some of my clothes

In some plastic bags.

I feel like I'm leaving
the whole world behind.

I'm leaving the block,
my friends.

The one thing that was
really difficult about moving

Was leaving my friends
and pets behind.

You wish you could
have one friend

That you know
for a long time.

I don't tell
the kids in school

I live in the shelter

Because they'll tease me.

They'll tease me
and stuff,

Saying, "you live
in a shelter. You a bum."

I'm afraid to tell
my friends

That I live
in a homeless shelter

Because they might
make fun of me,

And they might think
I'm poor,

But it's not my fault
because I just got there.

Hi. The kids you just met

Are exactly like you,

Except for maybe one thing--

Their families can't afford
to pay for places to live.

Most of us take having a home
for granted.

We've got a place
to go every night.

We've got neighbors,

Friends,

School,

A whole world
that belongs to us.

But when you're homeless,
you don't have these things.

Living without them is hard.

Sometimes we see people
in our towns and cities

Who seem to be lost.

They're sleeping on sidewalks,

Living in shacks,

Tents,

Even cars.

We see them waiting
for food.

They are living this way
because they don't have homes.

Why are these people homeless?

Some lose their homes
to accidents--

Fires or hurricanes.

Most families are homeless
because they are poor,

And there is not enough
inexpensive@housing

For poor families.

These families--
there are millions of them--

Look to relatives for help

Or live temporarily in shelters
that the government provides.

It's illegal to live
in public places like parks,

So homeless people
try not to get caught.

One way is to keep moving

And always look like
you're going somewhere.

That's what happens
in this book--

Fly away home.

My dad and I live
in an airport

Because we're homeless,

And the airport
is better than the streets.

We're careful
not to get caught.

Mr. Slocum and mr. Vail
were caught.

They sang...

♪ 10 Green bottles
hanging on the wall ♪♪

They were as loud
as two moose bellowing.

Dad says they broke
the first rule of living here--

Don't get noticed.

Dad and I
try not to get noticed.

We wear blue jeans,

Blue t-shirts,
and blue jackets.

We each have a bag
with a change of clothes.

Not to be noticed
is to look like nobody.

Once, we saw a woman pushing
a metal cart full of stuff.

Security moved her out
real fast.

Everything in the airport
is on the move--

Passengers, pilots,
cleaners with their brooms.

Jets roar in
close to the windows.

Other jets roar out.

Everyone's going somewhere,

Except me and dad.

We stay.

Once, a little bird got
into the main terminal

And couldn't get out.

It threw itself at the glass
and fell on the floor.

It flew to a tall metal girder
and perched there, exhausted.

"Don't stop trying!"
I told it silently.

"Don't. You can get out."

For days, the bird flew around,
dragging one wing, and then...

It found the instant

When a sliding door was open
and slipped through.

I watched it rise.
Its wing seemed o.k.

"Fly, bird," I whispered.
"Fly away home."

The airport's busy and noisy,
even at night.

Dad and I sleep anyway.

In the mornings,
we wash up in a bathroom.

Strangers
talk to strangers.

Dad and i--
we don't talk to anyone.

We buy breakfast
at the cafeteria.

Sometimes
dad gets me juice.

On the weekends,

Dad takes the bus
to work.

He's a janitor
in an office.

On those days,
mrs. Medina looks out for me.

The medinas
live here, too,

And denny medina's
my friend.

He and I collect
rented luggage carts

And return them
for 50 cents.

If the crowds are big,
we offer to carry bags.

"Get this one for you?"

We hope people
give us tips.

When dad comes home,
he buys us hamburgers.

If we've had a good day,
we treat for pie,

But I've stopped
doing that.

I save my money in my shoe.

"Dad, will we ever have
our own apartment again?

I'd like it to be the way
it was before mom d*ed."

"Maybe we will," he says,

"If I can find more work
and save some money."

He rubs my head.

I know he's trying
to find a place.

He takes newspapers
from the trash baskets,

And then he goes to the phones.

When he comes back,
he looks sad and angry.

I know he's been calling
about an apartment,

And the rent's too high.

"I'm saving money, too,"
I tell him

And point to my shoe.

Dad smiles. "Attaboy!"

Sometimes
I watch people meeting.

"We missed you."

"Good to be home."

Sometimes I get mad, and I just
want to run and shout,

"Why do you have homes
when we don't?

What makes you
so special?"

That would get us noticed.

Sometimes
I just want to cry.

I think dad and I
will be here forever.

Then I remember the bird.

It took a while,
but a door opened,

And when the bird left,
when it flew free,

I know it was singing.

Usually when families
are homeless,

They don't live
in airports.

They stay in shelters.

A shelter
can provide some things,

Like a roof
over your heard,

But it's not like
having a home.

This is the castro family.

They had a home
in brooklyn, new york,

Until there was a fire
and they had to leave.

[Girl]
losing the house--

I never thought
that would happen.

I thought we would
live there forever.

I felt bad
because I had friends,

And I liked it there.

When we left
our house,

We didn't have
a place to stay.

[Boy]
we didn't have enough money
to get a new place to live.

It was scary.

We didn't know
when we would eat

Or where we were
going to go.

[Girl]
we spent two weeks
driving around

Looking for a place
to stay.

[Boy]
it's hard to believe

We stayed inside that car
for two weeks.

It was like a nightmare.

[Girl]
we didn't know

If we would get
money for food.

[Boy]
I wondered when we would eat,

And I could eat up a storm,
but we had no food.

My little sisters
were hungry.

They could only
drink milk.

My mother didn't
have money for milk,

So there wasn't
milk for them.

They were
really hungry.

I felt so bad

Because they were
so little.

My father said not to worry.

He said we'll have to go
to the shelter.

[Girl]
powers is
a shelter.

A shelter
is a place

Where the city
puts families

That don't
have homes.

[Boy]
we felt relieved
getting into powers.

We could finally
get out of that car.

The good part
was that we had
a place to stay.

[Boy]
two bedrooms
with a nice kitchen.

[Girl]
we had a roof
over our head,

You know?

[Boy]
but it was still scary
around there.

[Girl]
people have gotten
hurt there, robbed.

[Boy]
I was hoping

That nothing would happen
to my mother, father, or family.

I never
gave up hope.

I wanted to keep on going
till I got a place.

[Boy]
after a whole lot of looking,

A social worker
helped us find a house.

I was so happy,
I felt like crying.

Once I came in, I started
doing front flips of joy.

When we all first
walked in here,

We were so happy...

To see a house.

[Boy]
I consider myself lucky to get
a nice house like this

After what our past is.

We didn't expect
to be homeless,

But that's the way
life goes.

Everybody has something bad
in their past.

Our past
was a little too bad,

But we hanged on.

[Boy]
I learned not to be scared
of things like this,

That if we stick together,
we can handle it.

[Girl]
even though I was
homeless myself,

I didn't think
of myself

As those people
in the street.

I thought of myself
as a person
without a home

That needs
to get one.

There's nothing wrong
with a person that's homeless.

They're the same
as when they had a home

But more scared.

Oh, good.

Oh, wow.

Look, cake.

[Boy]
the homeless word--
I don't like that word.

It's an ugly word.

Oh, my bag.
My bag.

My bag.

[Boy]
I appreciate a home
more than I us to.

We know what a home means
to a family.

I see.

Let me see.

[Girl]
home means
a warm place

That you can share
your feelings,

Your hopes,
and your dreams.

Little baby.

[Laughing]

[Boy]
home is a part
of a family.

It's what keeps
a family together.

It's a place
that guards you.

It's a safe place.

[Family laughing]

Perhaps you've seen
someone who is homeless,

And you've had
some questions.

Here are some
books that might help,

But don't take my word for it.

I'm sophia,
and I will tell you

About the homeless
hibernating bear.

It's a special story
written by very special kids.

The story is written
by homeless kids.

The main character is frankie.
She's a bear.

Chris is a boy who lives
in the community shelter.

Mindy is his friend.

The pictures
are drawn by the kids.

Each one is different
and helps tell the story.

It's important to understand
how a homeless person must feel.

This book is
a great way to start.

I'm daniel. It's sad
that some people are hungry,

But it's good
that some people care.

That's what
this book is about.

Uncle willie
works at a sp kitchen.

Uncle willie picks up
his nephew.

The boy is curious
about the soup kitchen.

The soup kitchen has big pots
to feed the people.

Uncle willie and the boy
meet the people.

The people eat, and the boy
and uncle willie feel good.

This is both a sad
and happy book.

I highly recommend uncle willie
and the soup kitchen.

My name is jennifer,

And here's a great book
called home.

It's filled with beautiful poems
and short stories.


Worked on this book.

Each page has a different story

And describes a place
someone calls home.

The pictures are all different.

Some are realistic,

And some are like cartoons.

Home is a place
where you feel comfortable.

What does home mean to you?

When you read these stories,

You'll feel like you
are in grandma's kitchen

Or wherever you call home.

When we hear about a problem
like homelessness,

We want to do something.

When people are in need,
we should try to help.

[Girl]
common cents is a group of kids

That collects pennies
for the homeless.

People think that kids
can't really make a difference,

But we are with the help
of common cents.

Common cents started
with my daughter.

One day when
I was 3 years old,

I noticed
a homeless man.

[Father]
and he had
those...

Bursted
old sneakers

With newspapers
stuck inside
for warmth.

I asked my father
if we could take him home.

I didn't know how
to answer that.

When he was picking me up
from my baby-sitter,

He noticed she had
a jar of pennies.

And I thought
to ask her

Would she give
these pennies

To help
homeless people,

And she said,
"take them."

We had a jar of pennies,

So we thought
a lot of people

Had jars of pennies,

And that's how
common cents started.

First
we have to collect
the pennies.

Hi.

[Girl]
it's called
penny harvesting.

At first, I didn't think people
would give any money,

But they gave
a whole lot.

We need
more pennies.

[Girl]
after harvesting,

We have to count
and sort the money.

We call this
a field day.

I never saw so many pennies
till we did the field day.

[Girl]
it's the only time

You'll see
thousands of dollars
worth of pennies.

[Boy]
at the end,
we make, like, $1,000.

It's really amazing.

The first word that comes
to mind is "wow."

[Boy]
this could really
help somebody.

We have $1,025 that we
harvested to give away today.

[Girl]
after this
field day,

We decide where
to spend the money.

How about
homeless shelters?

What about
clinton family inn?

What is the clinton
family inn?

It's for single parents.
There's day care there.

Have any of you
been there?

I pass by.

Did they
tell you anything
they needed?

Their rug was b*at up.

We should get them
a nice one.

They needed cots.

They really need
books.

They didn't have
any books.

We're giving the money
to them.

[Boy]
kids can really make
a difference helping others.

It's not just
collecting pennies.
You're having fun.

[Girl]
everybody can see
that we're not just kids.

We can do something.

Hello.

Hi.

[Girl]
it's just fun to see smiles
on people's faces

When you help them.

[Girl]
it just shows
that everybody

Can do something
to help.

[Girl]
I've learned I can make
a difference in people's lives.

It feels nice.

[Boy]
my name is matthew goldstein.
I'm a city harvest volunteer.

City harvest is an organization
that takes the leftover food

From restaurants, supermarkets,
and other places...

City harvest.

Hi, matthew.

And brings it

To the people at shelters,
children's hospitals.

We feed whoever is hungry,

And most of it is kids.

What's up?

How's it going?

[Matthew]
when I was younger,

I was at a restaurant
with my parents,

And there was a n
looking through the garbage.

I didn't understand
because I was really young,

But my father
bought some food for him,

And I knew he was helping him
because he didn't have any food.

I went home that night,
and it just stuck in my mind.

All right.
Let's go.

[Matthew]
I don't get paid
for city harvest.

I do this
because I want to.

I want to get food
to needy people.

It started out
as a school project.

You had to do 10 hours
of service for the community.

I liked the idea so much
that I stayed with it.

The hours can get
very long sometimes.

I'll start right after school,
and it will run into the night.

At 8:00, we'll still be
dropping off food.

I still do my homework,
but this is a main interest.

Volunteering for city harvest

Gives me a sense
of responsibility.

It gives me a warmth
helping other people,

Especially children.

How you doing?

Hey, rupert.

Hey, what's happening?

We got restaurant
food here.

Spinach tortellini.

I'm doing it
to make myself feel good,

But you're really
helping many people.

Today, I'm spending time
with kids at this shelter,

So I brought some
of my favorite books to read.

Homelessness is a big problem
in our country.

No one person can end it,

But think what a difference
it would make

If each of us helped.

Giving a little
adds up to a lot.

I'll see you next time.

Hi, everybody!

Hi, levar!

Who wants to hear
a story?

O.k. Gather around
right over here.

Everybody
gather around.

Come on up close.

Everybody
come on up close.

You want
to hear some poems
from here?

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪
♪ A reading rainbow

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow books

Are fly away home
by eve bunting,

Illustrated
by ronald himler,

Published by clarion books,

An imprint
of houghton mifflin company.

The homeless hibernating bear
by kids livin' life,

Published by gold leaf press.

Uncle willie
and the soup kitchen

By dyanne disalvo-ryan,

Published by
morrow junior books.

Home, edited
by michael j. Rosen,

Published by harpercollins.